Alright I'm 26 years old, 5' 11'' male. I used to be at max 294 lbs about six years ago and have been pushing to get down to 180 - eventually 170 lbs. right now I am 196 lbs and am having quite a bit of trouble getting the body image that doesn't see like a shadow of my past 294 lb self. I have a considerable amount of loose skin around my abdomen and thighs. Also I have two torn ACLs so any heavy lifting is questionable. I may also have bad shoulders.

My diet has been pretty much 5-6 small meals a day while keeping a watch on carb intake. A typical day might be starting my day with a medium sized meal such as two whole eggs, slice of cheese on a whole grain flatbread or two sausage links and half a whole grain muffin. I tend to snack on single servings of almonds, walnuts, and cheezits. Lunches are typically flatbread turkey wraps with cheese, romain lettuce or spinach.

My workout routine is usually 45 minutes cardio, 45-60 minutes high rep. I am alternating chest, shoulders and back one day, arms, abs another and legs in between. Honestly there is no real direction other than to try and build some muscle and stay fit.

I'm not sure what else to put here for needed information. If you have any more inquiries just ask. I've been fighting tooth as nail for a while with my last plateau and just recently broke it, lost 10 lbs and now I'm at another I think. I'm not giving up though so no worries. I'll come check back at this I'm off to the gym.

firstly, congratulations on the weight loss. You should be very proud of yourself.

Secondly, a decent weight training routine will make a massive difference. Don't go to the gym and dick around; have a clear, structured workout. I recommend WS4SB (google it, it's a routine by Joe Defranco). It'll have you lifting weights 3x a week and you can do cardio on your off days (or after weight training, always do your weights workout first).

If you are not already eating 1g of protein per lb of your bodyweight then do so, it'll make a huge difference too. Also cut out all refined carbohydrate, especially grains (but I'm sure you knew that already).

One last thing, once you increase your protein intake (if it's not already at the 1g per lb) and get on a decent weight lifting program your scale weight might actually go up a little as muscle is heavier than fat. So don't stress if you find yourself actually gaining a little weight. As long as your protein is high and your carb intake is sensible you'll still be losing fat.

If you're lucky Ironman will weigh in on this. He's gone from being morbidly obese to being a total tank so he'll have some personal insight to offer.

Alright I'm 26 years old, 5' 11'' male. [...] and have been pushing to get down to 180 - eventually 170 lbs. .

why?I mean why a certain weight...

I can probably answer that. 180 at 5'11" is a BMI of 25. His doctor probably did the calculation for him.

In my opinion, BMI of 25 is probably optimal for most people. You shouldn't try to get any lower. Better is to try to add muscle and wind up at a muscular BMI of 25 or more. 196 is a little heavy but not so much that I would focus on weight loss at the expense of muscle gain. A lot depends on your bone structure.

Are you seeing a physio therapist for your knees? You should be strengthening the muscles around your knees to support them. Your aversion to heavy lifting may work against you. What do you do in the gym?

I noticed you're eating bread at both breakfast and lunch. As Bob mentioned, you probably want to reduce your bread intake. (I'm sure some people here call me the Grain Nazi but I'm trying to be restrained.)

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

Well I've done a lot of looking into ideal body weight, BMI and measurements. I suppose 170 lbs is actually quite far fetched if I was looking to fill out, but 180 - at least somewhere near it - should be attainable. I'm not that experienced in weightlifting and body building so forgive me on that... Heh.

Also thanks for the compliments they all mean a lot. Seeing that shadow of your former self still has a heavy impact :s. I will look into that workout plan when I get home and start saving cardio for the end.

One thing that I think will put me in a bind is finding out how to consume 200g of protien daily on a minimal budget (really hoping I don't see buy peanut butter lol).

...One thing that I think will put me in a bind is finding out how to consume 200g of protien daily on a minimal budget (really hoping I don't see buy peanut butter lol).

Best value: Sardines, eggs and organ meats. If you hunt, or have a friend that hunts, buy a freezer.

200 (1g/lb) is a guideline. 2/3 of that should be a minimum. If you cut out grains, you need something else for fuel, and meat, fish and eggs are the best (most nutritious) source. Getting the protein becomes easy.

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

The minimal budget issue is the one I've been dealing with recently with the protein intake. And being the little 165lbs I am, I've found a way to consume 130-170g of protein daily. For one, I drink alot of milk. Milk is relatively cheap, atleast in my country. Two, eggs and meat. I try to find the cheapest meat, usually ground beef/pork or tuna. Chicken is one too, but that's more rare and in smaller portions due to high price. Eggs also have a great nutritional value, and very easy to make. Third comes cottage cheese, quark and greek/turkish yoghurts which are higher on protein and sometimes fat, but low on carbs. Fourth is supplements. The relative value of protein powder isn't that high, when you consider that almost a third of my protein intake comes from supplement, and it really doesn't cost that much. You might want to think about different beans and spinach for example too. Nuts are more for Omega 6 and 3.

One of the criticisms about nuts is that they have too much O6, which is inflamatory. The O3 (in walnuts, mainly) is an inferior type and not very useful. Nuts are often rich in vitamin E which protects against the oxidation of the O6 and 3 in them. Most of the fat in nuts is mono-unsaturate. Different nuts each seem to be a source of some nutrient that is hard to get elsewhere which is possibly why they help in weight loss and heart disease somewhat. A handful of a variety of nuts is helpful, but not in any volume.

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

I owe much of my obesity to a love of nuts and seeds. Ate a good bit of them each and every day for 15 years, easily.Taco Bell and working at Dominos Pizza and a Steak and Spagetti House didnt hurt. Oh and sitting on my butt.

I pretty much was that unhealthy kid in school who was fat, enjoyed eating, etc., etc.... I didn't start taking my health seriously until I started working at a mcd's when I was 20. I pretty much realized where I could have headed working there and things snapped. I started counting calories, cutting out pop, walking to work (1-1.5 miles one way). Being mindful of serving sizes came earlier though. I thought I could get to a decent weight and not worry about filling out, but after so much struggle I think I'm about ready to admit defeat, give in and try filling out. Besides I know the ladies will like it.

One of the criticisms about nuts is that they have too much O6, which is inflamatory. The O3 (in walnuts, mainly) is an inferior type and not very useful. Nuts are often rich in vitamin E which protects against the oxidation of the O6 and 3 in them. Most of the fat in nuts is mono-unsaturate. Different nuts each seem to be a source of some nutrient that is hard to get elsewhere which is possibly why they help in weight loss and heart disease somewhat. A handful of a variety of nuts is helpful, but not in any volume.

For what I've read it's best for health to get a good balance of O6 and O3, something along the lines of 1-4:1. True, only walnuts have even some amount of O3 (like 10% or so), so it's more just O6. But I've heard some riff raff about O6 being good for something too, any specific knowledge on that?

I'm all for good diet habits and watching what I eat, but I'm not on the level of most of the people here. I'll probably continue with what I'm doing, but I am definitely interested in buying into whey protein.

On the ACLs. Torn ACLs is probably a reason to lift heavy, not a reason not to. You just have to get some guidance as to the best ways to go about it. A sports-oriented physical therapist may be the best source for the guidance.

_________________Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

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